Question

June needs 45 gallons of punch for a party and has 2 different coolers to carry it in. The bigger cooler is 5 times as large as the smaller cooler. How many gallons can each cooler hold? Enter the answers in decimal form.

Answer 1

The capacity of smaller cooler = 7.5 gallons

The capacity of bigger cooler = 37.5 gallons

Explanation:

Let smaller cooler's capacity be x gallons

Hence

Larger cooler's capacity will be 5x gallons

Together, they will hold 45 gallons, thus we can write:

x + 5x = 45

Solving:

x + 5x = 45

6x = 45

x = 45/6 = 7.5

And 5x = 5(7.5) = 37.5

The capacity of smaller cooler = 7.5 gallons

The capacity of bigger cooler = 37.5 gallons